Stress.. something we wish we could have less of but somehow always finds its way into our lives. Are you ever having a really good day and then BAM, stress comes kicking down your front door?
Well, same. And the feelings that come with it aren’t always the most fun to deal with.
But I’m here to tell you that sometimes it’s the simple steps we take, the healthy habits we start to create in these moments that can help lessen that feeling of overwhelm and overall self-consumption of stress.
The first truth is, everyone deals with stress and it comes in many different severities too. The second truth? We have the power to decide how we go about dealing with that stress and whether it will positively impact us, or negatively drag us down.
Do you let it break you down and consume you? Or do you take a moment to let it settle and then pick yourself up from it?
When life gives you lemons, you fortunately have options to help relieve some of its sourness.
Ways To Help Relieve Stress
Breathe
Take a moment to just breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Continue with this for a few deep breaths. Why is this beneficial? Because when you take the time to breathe deeply, it triggers the parasympathetic nervous system which brings us to a relaxed and calm state. You may also notice that your muscles feel tense when you’re stressed. Deep breathing also helps release this tension. The power of just using your own breath is amazing.
Evaluate The Situation
Sometimes when stress hits, you may begin to think everything in your life is crashing down. You may begin to put blame on things that are irrelevant to your current feeling, and this can cause lots of confusion and unnecessary stress. It’s important to evaluate your situation. What’s making you stressed in that moment? Is it something that just happened? Or is it something that was buried and just made its way back to the surface? Figure out where your feelings are stemming from as one of your first steps. Sometimes writing it down on paper or in a journal can help bring more clarity.
Practice Gratitude
When in stressful situations, it can be very difficult to remember the good that you still have in your life. The stress more or less clouds that portion of life until you remind yourself of them again. After you evaluate the situation, try to remind yourself of some of the good. Whether that’s the roof over your head, the food in your cupboards, the family and friends you have or the clothes on your back. There’s always something to be grateful for and practicing this will help you have a better perspective on the situations you may find yourself in.
Take Time For Yourself
After a stressful time, it’s a good idea to take time for yourself, to take care of yourself. Maybe for you that means relaxing in a warm bath, binge watching TV, doing your favourite hobby or going for a nice long jog. Whatever helps your soul calm and brings you bliss, do it. Self-care is essential to our overall health and wellness.
Let Go Of The Guilt
Stressful situations can also bring a lot of guilt and over-thinking. Maybe you feel you could’ve done more, you could’ve done something differently or you just shouldn’t have done anything at all. Whatever it is, remind yourself that it’s already done and continuous dwell on the situation will only hurt you more. Stressful situations carry a lesson. You can choose to learn from your feelings and use them as a reminder on how you approach and deal with situations in the future, or you can choose to ignore the lessons entirely. There is no delete button in life, but there is a play button and the opportunity to learn and do things differently.
You hold the power to your own feelings. When a stressful situation shows up on your doorstep, only you will be able to decide how you deal with it.
Yes, stress is inevitable. Problems and unfortunate events will happen. But the most important reminder that can be taken from them is that life is still amazing despite those hardships, and you have the ability and the strength to get through it. 😊
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